The gold-medal winning four-man U.S. Olympic bobsled team stopped by zMax Dragway over the Four-Wide Nationals weekend to have a close-up look at drag racing’s best during NHRA’s 4-Wide Nationals.

But the admiration was mutual for Steve Holcomb, Steve Mesler, Curt Tomasevicz and Justin Olsen – as well as for the father of U.S. bobsledding, former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine.

Eighteen years ago, Bodine saw that U.S. bobsledders were racing against teams with superior equipment. Americans were in Street Stock cars, while the best teams were in Top Fuel.

The gold-medal winning four-man U.S. Olympic bobsled team stopped by zMax Dragway over the Four-Wide Nationals weekend to have a close-up look at drag racing’s best during NHRA’s 4-Wide Nationals.

But the admiration was mutual for Steve Holcomb, Steve Mesler, Curt Tomasevicz and Justin Olsen – as well as for the father of U.S. bobsledding, former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine.

Eighteen years ago, Bodine saw that U.S. bobsledders were racing against teams with superior equipment. Americans were in Street Stock cars, while the best teams were in Top Fuel.

“We always had confidence in our athletes,” Bodine said. “But when I saw the equipment they were using and how they got that equipment – mortgaging their homes, fundraisers, buying their own equipment – and they were buying their equipment from the competition.

“I’m a competitive guy. I’ve never sold any other racer my best race cars. And after looking at what they were using, I knew it wasn’t very good equipment, and that was a problem.”

So Bodine went out and did something about it. He got engineers and car builders from racing involved to build U.S.-made sleds that could compete against the world’s best. The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project has grown into some of the best sleds in the world.

And that was proven in Vancouver last month when Holcomb drove the four-man sled to a dominant victory.

“We didn’t just win the medal,” Holcomb said. “We stole it, we crushed it and took it away from everybody.”

A version of Holcomb’s “Night Train” sled was on display during nitro qualifying on Saturday, and several drivers and crew members stopped by to take a look at it. And they also got an up-close view of the quartet’s gold medals that were draped around each of their necks.

The real credit, Mesler said, should go to Bodine.

“Geoff still doesn’t get the amount of credit he deserves,” Mesler said.

Mesler noted that if a top-line driver should lose a sponsor, chances are good that another one will come along to replace the one that left.

“Somebody’s there to step in,” Mesler said. “If Geoff doesn’t step in 18 years ago, there’s not anybody else who’s going to step in there and do that. Honestly, we would’ve been at the Olympics this year, but we wouldn’t have medaled. And they wouldn’t have medaled eight years ago, Shauna Rohbock wouldn’t have medaled four years ago.

“I’m not sure people really get that, what he did. There wasn’t somebody else who was just going to hop in there because the void was there. He saw a void that no one else had filled before – and probably no one ever would have if he didn’t.”

Bodine appreciates the sentiment, but he doesn’t need the credit, he said. He was simply filling a need. Bodine is like a proud parent who watches his children grow up and do well.

“Seeing everyone open their arms to these athletes, that’s all I need,” Bodine said. “I don’t need a medal. Now, if one of (these) guys want to loan me one, and let me take it home with me, that’s all right. But I don’t need one.

“I saw a need. I’ve been very blessed in my life, my career. I learned quite a while back it’s pretty empty unless you give back. This was one of my ways of giving back .”

That’s a lesson we all could use.